Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Aaron vs. 5th Graders

The title of this post is how I saw it when the presentation began; it was me versus them. To say the beginning was awkward would be selling this situation well short.

What was this presentation? I was at an elementary school for a 50-minute presentation about what Asperger’s and autism is and my experiences with it. This came about from a request by a parent whose child in the class who also has Asperger’s Syndrome like myself.

The day before I gave a presentation to 57 police officers. As I began my speaking career, I thought this to be the most daunting of crowds, but that presentation the other day was awesome. This one, on the other hand, was like looking at Mount Everest and expecting to climb it without ever having climbed any other mountian. This is the essence of fear in terms of public speaking.

So there I was, Aaron vs. 5th graders, and words were not coming. I'm used to a PowerPoint, but I had none. Also, I don't think I'm great around kids. Maybe it's not that I'm not good, but I don't change my words, or ways, and I stay my stiff self. Anyway, it took a couple words from the other TouchPoint staff member that was with me to get me going and I explained who I was, what I do, and then the teacher of the class suggested that I explain what, exactly, autism is. This is when the magic began.

I know how to explain it to a parent, a doctor, or even a teacher, but what do I say to a 5th grader? I began explaining it and then a student raised a hand and said, "I believe it is that your brain processes information differently, right?" I was taken aback, what I was trying to explain in simple terms was explained back to me flawlessly. The magic continued.

Slowly the ice melted and a conversational tone began. I kept trying to do what I usually do, give a presentation, but I was having trouble and thankfully the class began asking questions. The first question asked was, "What was your favorite subject in school?" and I stated that it was math and social studies. I explained how I loved math and taught myself to multiply in the first grade, and my love on states and capitols. The next question was, "What's the capitol of Florida?" and before the words had time to echo through the classroom I fired back, "Tallahassee."

Questions continued on about my memory, and comments abounded on things the kids have seen on various news programs. As the ice totally thawed, this question was asked, "Do you think people did, or do, underestimate you because of your diagnosis?" What?! Was this question asked by a 5th grader or a PhD student? It took me a moment to gather my composure because the depth of that question was astounding. The very next question, after I gave my answer, was, "If you could simply be cured of Asperger's, would you?"

As it went on I explained that I had just moved to my own place and one kid asked me if I am a good cook. I laughed and said, "not so much" and another kid then stated, "Well, when you start to be sure to have a fire extinguisher." How true that is!

I went into this presentation fearing for my pride and reputation because I was sure I would make a mockery of myself, and not get through to the students at all. What I realized was that I had really sold the students short. The complexity of their questions was amazing and I believe my information came across.

What started out as an event I greatly feared turned out to be an amazing 50 minutes. I've always wondered what it would have been like had I been diagnosed earlier and the reaction of my classmates; I mean, would they have understood? I've thought that for a long time and now I have my answer. Not only can they understand, but they can also empathize and they seemed to want to learn about it. It started as an I vs. them situation but in the end this presentation has shown me hope. If I can walk into a room of 5th graders and get them to talk about the autism spectrum, the bounds of, "understanding is the foundation for hope" knows no bounds

4 comments:

Too many tears are falling down my face to comment. It has been my hope that you would eventually move into the classrooms across America to educate the next generation. It is my dream that every child on the spectrum grow up with understanding from their peers and pride from within. You just took the first step in making that happen for thousands of children on the spectrum. You are their hero and you are their hope!

I told you fifth graders were amazing, but I am even more in awe of them after reading your story. I find it precious that it appears they started asking you questions because they were feeling your discomfort and wanted to ease it a bit. I sometimes wonder when the point is that these amazing and truly compassionate little creatures turn into 'normal' people. I hope you can do more of these child audience presentations...being around this age truly gives one a hope in humanity that perhaps underneath all the pain and anger that most people carry around, there is a fifth grader who has a beautiful and non-judgemental soul.

Wow, that's really great Aaron! And what amazing questions they had.I do wonder if there would've been someone thinking 'hey but I feel it like that too...' just like I did when I heard about Autism in primary school...

Who I Am

Hello, my name is Aaron Likens and thanks for visiting my blog. I am the Autism Ambassador for Easter Seals Midwest and also the author of the book "Finding Kansas. My passion in life is to raise the awareness and understanding of the autism spectrum through this blog as well as the many presentations I give. For myself, as much as it is a passion, it is personal because I was given the diagnosis of Asperger's when I was 20. Back then there wasn't much info and I fell into a pit of despair. I stayed there for 15 months but then I eventually discovered myself through writing and now here I am and here you are on my blog. There are well over 1,000 posts on this blog as I started blogging in March of 2010. So whether you're reading today's blog, or are skimming through stories of the past, I hope that your time here gives you a better glimps of what living life on the autism spectrum, or, "other side of the wall" is like. If you do like what you see please follow me on Facebook as that's where I share when I've written a new blog as well as announcing where I will be presenting. Please note that the opinions expressed on this blog are mine and may not be reflective of Easter Seals Midwest.

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Finding Kansas Revisited

To mark 10 years since I started writing my book I did a blog series with my thoughts from today on what I wrote then. This was the first time I ever read anything I had ever written.

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I ran a sunglasses experiment to judge why eye contact is so difficult. I wore them for about 15 days, then I switched back to my normal glasses to see how big of a difference there was. By clicking my picture you can be taken to the page that has the complete experiement all in one place.

About Me

I am the Autism Ambassador for Easter Seals Midwest and also the author of Finding Kansas: Living and Decoding Asperger's Syndrome. My passion in life is raising awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorders and to help the world understand how the mind of a person on the spectrum works. I can do this because I am on the spectrum (Asperger's).
I was diagnosed at the age of 20 and after the diagnosis a lot of my quirks made sense. I didn't understand who I was though and went into a deep depression. Through this depression though I became very keen on my inner self and I started to write. I wrote and I wrote and before I knew it I wrote a book.
5 years later I am, among other things, giving presentations to police, teachers, and parents and am now starting my quest on making the best blog possible!
The views on this blog are mine and may not be reflective of Touch Point Autism Services.
If you have any questions, or comments, or have an article idea please email me at aaron.likens@yahoo.com.